Why are unpeeled shrimp supposedly better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the south where we could go buy shrimp fresh off the boat at the dock.

We would shell them first, then cook them, in dishes like shrimp creole and shrimp curry. I can’t remember how we cooked them if we just boiled them simply.

If you cook them in the shells, you shell them before you eat them.

My experience with the fresh off the boat shrimp is it is still very much alive and moving, shelling before cooking seems an impossible task.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Damn, DCUM has delivered. Thank you to all of you who wrote these detailed and helpful responses. Also the book recommendation. I will not get unpeeled shrimp, and I’m going to get shrimp with the heads on from now on! Thank you everyone!

[Anonymous]

From an ethical standpoint, shrimp that is sold peeled is often peeled by slave labor. Good reason to avoid it.